406 QUADRUMANA. 



obtain it. In Java, his drink was water ; but on board ship it was no less 

 diversified than his food. He was more partial to coffee and tea than 

 any other beverage ; " but," says Dr. Abel, "would readily take wine; 

 and exemplified his attachment to spirits by stealing the captain's brandy 

 bottle." After his arrival in London, he drank wine and other liquors ; 

 but, in preference to them, or anything else, beer and milk. From the 

 boatswain of the Alceste, who shared his meals with him, although he 

 sometimes purloined the grog and biscuit of his benefactor, he learned to 

 eat with a spoon ; and might be often seen sitting at his cabin door, 

 enjoying his coffee, quite unembarrassed by those who observed him, 

 and with a grotesque and sober air, that seemed a burlesque on human 

 nature. 



He slept, while at Java, in a large tamarind-tree, where he had 

 " formed a bed, by intertwining the small branches and covering them with 

 leaves." He retired to rest at sunset, or even earlier if he had been well 

 fed, and rose at sunrise, to visit those from whom he was accustomed to 

 receive food. In the day-time he would lie with his head projecting 

 beyond his nest, watching those who passed below ; and, on perceiving any 

 one with fruit, he would descend, for the purpose of obtaining a share of 

 it. On board ship he commonly slept in a sail, at the mast-head. He 

 took the greatest pains to remove anything that would render the surface 

 on which he intended to repose uneven, then spread out the sail, placed 

 himself on his back upon it, and drew the sides over his body. " Some- 

 times," says Dr. Abel, " I pre-occupied his bed, and teased him by 

 refusing to give it up : on these occasions he would endeavour to pull the 

 sail from under me, or to force me from it, and would not rest until I had 

 resigned it. If it was large enough for both, he would quietly lie by my 

 side. If all the sails happened to be set, he would hunt about for some 

 other covering, and either steal one of the sailors' jackets or shirts, that 

 happened to be drying, or empty a hammock of its blankets. Off the 

 Cape of Good Hope he suffered much from a low temperature, especially 

 early in the morning, when he would descend from the mast, shudder- 

 ing with cold, and, running up to any one of his friends, climb into their 

 arms, and, clasping them closely, derive warmth from their persons, 

 screaming violently at any attempt to remove him." 



His agility and strength were remarkable. At Java, his favourite 

 amusement consisted in passing from tree to tree, swinging from their 

 branches, and climbing over the roofs of houses. On board ship the 

 sailors often chased him about the rigging : at first starting, he would 

 endeavour to outstrip his pursuers by mere speed ; but, when much pressed, 

 he would seize a loose rope, and swing out of their reach. On some occa- 

 sions he would wait on the shrouds, or at the mast-head, until his pursuers 

 approached almost near enough to touch him, when he would bound along 



